The invention relates to a method and device for positioning or aligning a printed-circuit board in relation to the die and the anvil of a press, and more specifically a manually operated press for inserting connectors which are provided with so-called press-fit contact pins into a printed-circuit board, referred to below as PCB.
For connectors which are provided with press-fit contact pins of this nature to be manually arranged in a PCB, an operation which involves pushing a series of pins simultaneously into a selected corresponding series of holes in the PCB, use is made of a press, which generally comprises a frame which is able to withstand the force between a fixed part and a moving part.
The fixed part is generally provided with an anvil, and the moving part, or ram, is provided with an insertion die and this insertion die is always perfectly aligned with the anvil, in other words their centre points always lie on the same vertical insertion centre line.
The problem is to adjust the centre point or reference position of the selected insertion zone of the PCB as accurately and quickly as possible with respect to this vertical insertion centre line between die and anvil of the press.
Since the press-fit pins of the connectors have to be pushed transversely through the PCB, the anvil is provided with openings, in the form of regularly distributed grooves, which are arranged on the top of the anvil. The distance between these grooves corresponds to the standard distance between the contact pins.
The insertion die may either be planar, if the connector can be inserted using a planar die, or may likewise be provided with grooves or pins, if the connector cannot be inserted using a planar die.
The problem with a manually operated press of this nature consists primarily in correctly positioning the PCB with respect to the anvil and the insertion die, and more particularly in positioning the holes in the selected insertion zone of this PCB with respect to the grooves in the anvil and, if appropriate, the grooves in the insertion die.
This positioning is generally carried out by means of a X-Y table to which the PCB is attached.
The connector is usually placed manually into the corresponding holes in the PCB, after which, by means of the insertion die of the press, the elastic attachment zones of the contact pins of the connector are pressed into the holes in the PCB.
If the holes in the PCB do not precisely coincide with the openings or grooves in the anvil, the contact pins of the connector will be pressed together or crushed.
This is unacceptable, since is causes irreparable damage to both the contact pins and the connector.
The same problem may arise in the event of incorrect alignment or positioning of the upwardly projecting contact pins of a connector with respect to the insertion die of the press.
In the absence of a correct alignment means, it is usual to employ the insertion die as an intermediate adjustment piece, the die being positioned manually in the connector before the connector is actually inserted into the PCB.
Then, the ram or a planar die can be used to exert pressure on the top side of the insertion die before the connector is inserted into the PCB.
It is clear that such a procedure, in which the operator, before each insertion operation, has to arrange the intermediate piece or insertion die on the connector and remove it, wastes considerable time.
The object of the present invention is to resolve the problems indicated above in a simple and efficient manner, while also eliminating much time-consuming work.
To this end, the method and the device have the characteristic features explained in the appended claims.